News Briefs

Recent official data indicates that Chile's role as a transit nation for drug trafficking has increased in recent years, a pattern that authorities say is directly correlated to the country's geographic position between drug producers and consumer markets.

The Observatory on Drug Trafficking in Chile, which operates under the auspices of the Attorney General's Office, found in its annual report released on December 14 that the trafficking of numerous types of illicit drugs is on the rise. Seizures of LSD, ecstasy, cocaine, coca paste and marijuana have all increased since 2009, and the report highlighted the growing presence of synthetic drugs in the country.

The report argues that the observed patterns are clearly correlated with Chile's geographic location, citing a 2016 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that came to the same conclusion. Chile serves as a transshipment point for cocaine leaving the coca-producing countries of Bolivia and Peru that is destined for consumer markets in Europe and Africa. According to the UNODC, 9 percent of the cocaine trafficking incidents registered on African soil were linked back to Chile.

With an estimated 71 percent of the cocaine from Bolivia passing through Arica, the Chilean port appears to be one of the major transshipment points in the country, along with the other coastal cities of Iquique, Antofagasta and Mejillones.

According to the report, the country is not only the recipient of foreign drugs but also of foreign criminal structures. The study points to a recent police operation against Colombian drug traffickers who may have been operating in Chile as far back as 2006.

The report also addresses the government's response to the drug trade, arguing that police operations combined with prison sentences are not enough to tackle the issue. Citing the high prevalence of repeat drug offenders, the authors of the report said that the authorities must focus more attention on prevention and rehabilitation.

InSight Crime Analysis

Chile's geographic location, its extensive borders and its broad coastline renders it an attractive spot for moving drug shipments through the region and abroad. In addition to its borders with Peru and Bolivia, Chile shares a lengthy frontier with Argentina, where domestic drug consumption is reportedly on the rise.

While the report does not provide estimates on the proportion of drugs moving through Chile that are destined for the domestic market, growing drug consumption within traditional transshipment countries is a trend that has previously been seen in Brazil and Argentina.

It appears this trend may also be taking place in Chile, at least in the marijuana market. UNODC statistics compiled by Vice News show that Chile holds the highest marijuana consumption rate in the region among youth aged 15 to 18, with nearly 33 percent of this population having consumed the drug at least once in the past year.

We also encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, provided that it is attributed to InSight Crime in the byline, with a link to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

As set out in this report, the legal structure around Honduras' arms trade is deeply flawed. The legislation is inconsistent and unclear as to the roles of different institutions, while the regulatory system is insufficiently funded, anachronistic and administered by officials who are overworked or susceptible to...

The weapons trade within Honduras is difficult to monitor. This is largely because the military, the country's sole importer, and the Armory, the sole salesmen of weapons, do not release information to the public. The lack of transparency extends to private security companies, which do not have...

Estimates vary widely as to how many legal and illegal weapons are circulating in Honduras. There are many reasons for this. The government does not have a centralized database that tracks arms seizures, purchases, sales and other matters concerning arms possession, availability and merchandising. The laws surrounding...

In May 2011, a 26-year-old prison gang leader held 4,000 members of the Venezuelan security forces, backed by tanks and helicopters, at bay for weeks. Humiliated nationally and internationally, it pushed President Hugo Chávez into a different and disastrous approach to the prison system.

The department of Nariño in southwest Colombia is the main coca-producing area in the country and in the world. It is a place scarred by poverty and years of armed conflict between guerrillas, the state and paramilitary groups. Perhaps nowhere else in the country are the challenges...

The Bajo Cauca Franchise
BACRIM-Land
Armed Power Dynamics
The BACRIM in places like the region of Bajo Cauca are a typical manifestation of Colombia's underworld today: a semi-autonomous local cell that is part of a powerful national network.

Honduras does not produce weapons,[1] but weapons are trafficked into the country in numerous ways. These vary depending on weapon availability in neighboring countries, demand in Honduras, government controls and other factors. They do not appear to obey a single strategic logic, other than that of evading...

Drugs
Extortion
Criminal Cash Flows
Millions of dollars in dirty money circulate constantly around Bajo Cauca, flowing upwards and outwards from a broad range of criminal activities. The BACRIM are the chief regulators and beneficiaries of this shadow economy.